DIY: No Carve Pumpkin Animals

If you don't want to carve pumpkins this year, try making these pumpkin animals. Bonus: You can still cook the squash when you're done decorating with them.

There’s no need to stop at carving pumpkins when it comes to Halloween. Experiment by making all sorts of creatures from pumpkins, squash, and other vegetables to add fun to your Halloween party. And when you have finished you can still cook and eat everything you have used!

You Will Need:

Pumpkins and squash in any shape, size, and color

Selection of other vegetables—carrots, Brussels sprouts, eggplants (aubergine), and zucchini (courgette) are all great

Pumpkin and sunflower seeds, fresh ginger root, bay leaves

Sharp knife

Chopping board

Toothpicks (cocktail sticks)

Wooden skewers

Directions:

Lay all your vegetables out on the table so you can see what you have. Start thinking about which animals you would like to make and play around with different arrangements to create some crazy creatures!

Push one end of a toothpick (cocktail stick) into the vegetable you would like to use, such as a carrot, and then push the other end into your pumpkin.

Push seeds into pumpkins to make eyebrows, teeth, nose, etc.

Seeds make great spikes for hedgehogs. Push them into a squash, using the pointed top of the squash as a nose.

Use a sharp knife and chopping board to cut slices of vegetables. (Remember to keep your fingers out of the way or ask an adult to help you.) The slices make great eyes when held in place with toothpicks.

Push half of one of the wooden skewers into a squash to join one onto the other.

Push another squash onto the rest of the skewer to join two together.

Make antlers, ears, arms, and eyes by attaching vegetables to the squash with toothpicks—Brussels sprouts make great ears!

Bay leaves are a good shape to use as hair or headdresses and decoration on your creatures. It is easy to push